My Journey

Let me start at the beginning. Growing up - I was a skinny kid. I played soccer for almost 12 years, rode my bicycle for hundreds of miles with my father, visited skate parks on my rollerblades, played paintball, and even ran track for a brief time. I was a healthy child with a healthy appetite. Then it happened.

From a 42" to a 32"...

During the off-season one winter I was playing indoor soccer and, as I planted my left foot to take a shot - I heard a loud tear in my knee. The pain was blinding - causing a flash of light in my eyes - and my body to fall to the ground. I left the field that night in the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. Any reasonable human would have went to the hospital - but I went home, figuring that the pain would fade over time. I was wrong. Over the course of the next few years, I let the pain destroy me. I let it turn me into a lonely, depressed man - who - since he could not play sports or do much physical activity without pain - began eating himself slowly to death.

Over the next decade, I slowly put on 8-10 pounds each year. Every time I would get depressed - I would turn to food for comfort. That is THE WORST thing you can do. I tried several crash diets, and had lost quite a bit of weight at one point with Atkins - but it all came back on as rapidly as it came off. I would then get depressed and eat. This back and forth was geting me nowhere. I stepped on the scale one day and was shocked to look down and see the number 225 on the scale. Oh my God - "I am more than fat - I am obese" I thought to myself. "I need to lose this weight and get my life back!"

April 2009: 225 pounds. Disgusting. July 2010: 150 pounds. Time to start building muscle (and finish shaving).

Lucky for me I had a support system ready and waiting to help me get back on track. While I was sitting on the couch playing video games and feeling sorry for myself, my wife had already started her journey toward her new self. She had lost over 20 pounds (and now over 80 - you rock lady! ) through exercise and healthier eating habits - and suggested that with a little effort, I could do the same. She was right (yeah - I admit it ). What WAS I waiting for? No one was gonna do it for me. That was all the motivation I needed...

I started my journey to a new me on April 21, 2009. I started by counting my calories each and every day in order to start "eating for one". What I found was that I was eating twice as many calories as I should have been eating to even maintain my weight - gross! In my first month, I lost almost 10 pounds - off to a good start. Using the Lose it! program on my phone, I began to not only track my calories, but my exercise as well. By staying within my recommended caloric intake and starting to workout with The Biggest Loser dvds, I was able to lose around 75 pounds in one years time. I also took up running and began to track my progress using RunKeeper to keep pushing myself to go just a little faster each time. I have now successfully maintained my weight for yet another year come this April.

I love Mexican food, but not as much as I love being skinny.

If I can do it - YOU can too! Stay positive, stay active, and stay focused. That's what this site is all about. If I can positively influence even a handfull of people to better themselves, I will have accomplished my goal.